Fence



(No ModeL) J. H. PHILLIPS.

f FENCE.

No. 327,717. Patented 001;. 6, 1885.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JAMES H. PHILLIPS, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 327,717, dated October 6, 1885.

Application tiled June 4, 1885.

To @ZZ whom it may concern,

Beit known that I, .TAMEs H. PHILLIPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in fences in which metal posts are used in connection with horizontal bars; and the objects of my improvement are to provide cast-iron posts concavo-convex in crosssection, having their edges adapted to indent or engage with the horizontal bars under the pressure of their fastenings, and also to provide the horizontal bars with vertical cross-cuts at and adjoining their ends, with beveled or vertically dovetailed faces between said crosscuts, whereby the longitudinal separation of each pair of horizontal bars is prevented by a single bolt secured to the post under the ends of said bars. I attain these objects by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichw Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a fence constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the end portion of two of the fence'bars with one of the posts in cross-section.

The fence-posts A are made of cast-iron and provided with an ornamental round head, A', integral therewith, and a pointed lower end7 A, so that the post can be readily driven into the ground. rIhe body of the post is concavo-convex in cross-section to increase its stiffness and power of resistance against side pressure, and at the same time is thicker in the middle of its convexity, and presents edges a, to indent or engage with the side of the horizontal rails or bars B under pressure of the fastening-bolt b and its nut b2. lThe head b of the bolt b is preferably in the form of a hook, and bears against the opposite side Serial No. 167,654. (No model.)

of one of the pairs of horizontal bars, the body 4- of the bolt passing through a perforation made in the post.

To retain the ends of the bars B against both longitudinal and lateral displacement by a single bolt inserted in the post under said bars B, a cross-cut, B2, is made vertically in said bars at a short distance from the end B3, and said cross-cnt extends about two-thirds through the bar, (if the bars are to be kept in a perfectly straight line,) and the thickness at the end B3 is about two-thirds of the thickness of the whole rail, said rail being beveled at B4 between these points, so that when vtwo rails are brought together in position to be clamped they become dovetailed together, and when the nut is screwed uponthe bolt, as shown in Fig. 2, the two rails lbecome inseparable, and as one of them is indented by the acute edges al of the post, both rails become rigidly united to the post, and a very strong and permanent fence is obtained.

In place of using a bolt for each pair of rails, a notched cleat, C, may be bolted to the post, as shown in Fig. l. This post and cleat may also be used to support fencing-wires.

p Having now fully described my invention, I claim- The combination of a cast-iron fence-post having a pointed lower end, a concavo-convex body, acute edges a, and perforations for the passage of bolts, with horizontal rails B, provided with vertical crosscuts B2 adjoining the ends thereof, and beveled faces B4, adapted to become dovetailed together and united by a single bolt, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES H. PHILLIPS.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. MEANLEY, WM. B. PHILLIrs.

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